[정부 연금개혁안]
Democratic Party: “Government proposes plan that cannot be agreed upon”
Opposition to the formation of a special committee on pension reform
With “Big step for future generations, no political strife”
“Improving fairness” in response to ‘dividing’ criticism
“The new pension reform plan proposed by the president is a bad measure that renders the National Assembly discussion useless and divides the people.” (Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea)
“This is a big step for young people who have lost trust in the system due to pension insecurity and future generations.” (People Power Party Pension Reform Special Committee Members)
The ruling and opposition parties have taken sharply different stances on the pension reform plan announced by the government on the 4th. The Democratic Party, which holds a majority of seats in the National Assembly, opposed the plan, saying, “It is a pension reform that focuses only on reducing the government’s financial burden due to pensions rather than guaranteeing stable payments.” On the other hand, the People Power Party came out in favor, saying, “It is a plan to increase the sustainability of the National Pension.” The Democratic Party is also opposing the formation of the National Assembly Pension Reform Special Committee, which the People Power Party is demanding, so the upcoming National Assembly discussions are expected to be difficult. The pension reform plan must be legislated through the National Assembly.
● Opposition: “Government announcement cannot be accepted”
The Democratic Party expressed its opposition to the government’s announcement of “insurance premium rate of 13%, nominal income replacement rate of 42%,” saying that it is “a plan that only emphasizes financial stability.” In the 21st National Assembly, the People Power Party argued for an income replacement rate of 43% and the Democratic Party argued for an income replacement rate of 45%, and the two sides were on the verge of reaching an agreement when the Democratic Party proposed “insurance premium rate of 13%, income replacement rate of 44%.” However, since the agreement fell through due to the People Power Party’s opposition that “parameter reform and structural reform must be carried out together,” it is difficult to reach an agreement that goes beyond this.
A key member of the Democratic Party said, “Even at the end of the 21st National Assembly, we proposed an income replacement rate of 44% as a mediation measure despite opposition from civil society, but the ruling party rejected even that,” and added, “We will start from what was agreed upon in the 21st National Assembly.”
The Democratic Party also opposed the generational premium increase rate differentiation, saying it was a “division policy that has never been seen anywhere in the world.” They also opposed the introduction of an automatic adjustment system that automatically adjusts the premium rate (the amount paid) and income replacement rate (the amount received) according to economic conditions without a revision of the law or government measures, saying, “Based on new recipients in 2030, the total pension amount will be cut by nearly 17%.”
Meanwhile, the People Power Party’s Special Committee on Pension Reform held a press conference at the National Assembly and said, “We focused on increasing sustainability so that all generations can fairly enjoy the benefits of the system,” regarding the expansion of military service credit, introduction of an automatic adjustment device, and differentiation of insurance premium increases by generation contained in the government plan. “We believe that the Democratic Party will not resort to the worst option of turning this important pension reform into a political strife,” they said.
The Democratic Party’s position that the generational premium rate differential is “generational division” was also actively refuted. Rep. Ahn Sang-hoon, who serves as the People Power Party’s Pension Special Committee secretary, said, “When (the pension) was first created, the income replacement rate was extremely high compared to the insurance premium rate, and then it was reduced, and there were different differences by generation,” and “We took that into account because people in their 20s saw a large reduction.” Regarding the claim that the income replacement rate (42%) announced by the government was lower than the level claimed by the People Power Party (43%) and the Democratic Party (45%) in the 21st National Assembly, Special Committee Chairperson Park Soo-young said, “Considering fiscal stability, it is inevitable.”
● Opposition Party Says “Discussion in Welfare Committee” on Proposal of “Pension Special Committee”
The People Power Party called for the launch of a standing special committee on pension reform, as the ball has been passed to the National Assembly for discussion on the pension reform bill. The People Power Party’s special committee on pension reform said, “It is now time for the Democratic Party to respond,” and “Launch the special committee on pension reform and the ruling and opposition party consultative body as soon as possible and come to the forum for active discussion.”
In addition, the government and ruling party will form a consultative body with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, which oversees the basic pension, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which oversees the national pension and basic pension, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which oversees retirement pensions, to promote structural reform that reorganizes these pension systems together, as well as the basic pension reform.
On the other hand, the Democratic Party is arguing that if the government plan does not include structural reform, there is no need to form a special pension committee at the National Assembly level. Since the government plan is not structural reform but only a model reform, it is sufficient for the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, of which the party’s Rep. Park Ju-min is the standing committee chair, to discuss it.
Reporter Yoon Da-bin [email protected]
Reporter Choi Hye-ryeong [email protected]
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2024-09-05 01:09:40